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Monkeyshines 2018 - The Year of the Dog

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year. The twitchiness and paranoia that is Monkeyshines has been in the air for weeks. We search trees and parks. We open every newspaper box and look in every potted plant. We discover every single tossed tallboy in every bush. We walk through the city at night hoping to catch a glimpse of our first glass ball of the year. Are you ready for for the Year of the Dog?

Ms. Monkey and her team, cloaked in anonymity, create and hide thousands of handmade glass orbs and medallions every Chinese New Year. The balls and medallions are each stamped with a symbol for the new year's animal. They appear in neighborhoods throughout the city. Beautiful Angle posters usually go up that night as well. The even more mysterious Marbleman thrills hunters with his marbles. Others (rogue monkeys) join in to create art and hide treasurers. The art is to be discovered.

The thrill of the hunt has created an extraordinarily devoted and loyal group of followers. The moment a ball or medallion is found, the social interwebs light up with the news. Streets throughout the Tacoma then fill with people looking for their own prized piece of art.

Chinese New Year is Friday, February 16 (tomorrow). Will it happen that night? Or maybe tonight? Maybe some other night?

This year will see five different stamps including the original dog stamp from 2006. As we've been reminded year after year, there's really only one rule to Monkeyshines: TAKE ONLY ONE.

For us, it’s about wonder and a child-like search for treasure. It's about magic. We don't ask questions. We enjoy the moment. Good luck to all our Monkeyshine hunting friends!

That said, we know that a lot of people are looking and several friends of the monkeys are already hiding little treasures. If you're looking, have stories to tell, or have questions, post them in the comments. Head over to our Facebook page and tell your story there as well. If you have photos you'd like to share, please email them to us at tips @ exit133.com. We'll add them to your comment. Do you need some inspiration? Here are a few things to read while we all wait ...

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